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ranger_kate

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I found this fossil along Eisenhower State Park's hiking trails. This is close to Denison, TX in Grayson County. Right now this is the only photo I have, and it's taken from my phone. If it's not enough for an ID let me know, and I can hike back out for better pictures and more accurate measurement.

It's roughly a square foot big. The different cretaceous formations found in our park are: Kiamichi, Goodland, Duck Creek, and possibly Antlers.

I'm not an expert in fossils, but they are popular here, so as the park's naturalist I've been trying to learn as much as possible on my own using guide books and the internet.

I appreciate any help!

post-19247-0-31077500-1438451756_thumb.jpg

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Definitely in-filled invertebrate burrows. It is particularly interesting the way they have weathered out!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I agree with Auspex, they are Trace fossils,burrows filled with sediment.Thalassinoides(Ehrenberg,1944) come to my mind looking at the 3-D branched cylindrical burrows crossing each other. https://www.google.com/search?q=thalassinoides&sa=X&biw=1360&bih=612&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0CCQQsARqFQoTCMiYg9fGiMcCFSpK2wodboAGwA

" We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. "

Thomas Mann

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Thanks! "Burrowing invertebrate sea creatures" will be the answer I give most park visitors, while "Thalassinoides" will be saved for experts. Y'all are the best! I think I'll be lurking these forums for a while. :)

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Thanks! "Burrowing invertebrate sea creatures" will be the answer I give most park visitors, while "Thalassinoides" will be saved for experts. Y'all are the best! I think I'll be lurking these forums for a while. :)

Here is how I portray trace fossils to visitors: They show us something about "behavior." As apposed to bones or shells of things that died. In other words they are examples of "life" or living behavior. Of course they are not as sexy as dinosaur footprints but still along the same lines.

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Very nice burrow plate. They come in all sizes. I've seen some in Duck Creek Formation of Cooke County that were several feet across and a foot thick. I helped a collector take one out of a local creek for the Perot Museum that had more burrows than matrix separating them. The creatures had to be bumping onto each other when they were digging in there. They can be several inches in diameter or fractions of an inch too. You should consider joining Dallas Paleontological Society, we're mostly amateurs but take the science seriously. We have camped at Eisenhower Park to collect on private land near-by and go on frequent field trips. You don't have to be a member for most trips. One is coming up near Justin on Oliver Creek on the 22nd. See dallaspaleo.org for details.

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Here is how I portray trace fossils to visitors: They show us something about "behavior." As apposed to bones or shells of things that died. In other words they are examples of "life" or living behavior. Of course they are not as sexy as dinosaur footprints but still along the same lines.

Excellent! We don't have many (any?) trace fossils at Eisenhower, so these will serve as good examples. Even if they aren't as "sexy" as those footprints at Dinosaur Valley State Park.

Very nice burrow plate. They come in all sizes. I've seen some in Duck Creek Formation of Cooke County that were several feet across and a foot thick. I helped a collector take one out of a local creek for the Perot Museum that had more burrows than matrix separating them. The creatures had to be bumping onto each other when they were digging in there. They can be several inches in diameter or fractions of an inch too. You should consider joining Dallas Paleontological Society, we're mostly amateurs but take the science seriously. We have camped at Eisenhower Park to collect on private land near-by and go on frequent field trips. You don't have to be a member for most trips. One is coming up near Justin on Oliver Creek on the 22nd. See dallaspaleo.org for details.

That's so cool. I need to visit the Perot Museum still. And I've just joined the Dallas Paleo Society's Facebook Group to try following events/outing on there. I'd love to make it the Justin field trip, but Saturdays are my most important work day. Learning from some local experts would be great, so hopefully I can make it to a meeting or two soon.

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